Tiramisu Cheesecake

If you’re trying to capture the heart of an Italian man, there’s only one way to do it. Combine two of his favorite things, strong coffee + sweet cheesecake. This version of the classic tiramisu will inevitably result in amore. To be clear, when I say Italian man, I really mean anyone who likes strong coffee and sweet cheesecake.

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Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes

Yields: 12-16 servings

Ingredients:

- 20 ladyfinger cookies

- 1 cup of espresso (or regular coffee)

- 16 oz of cream cheese

- 16 oz of mascarpone cheese (can be substituted for neufchâtel cheese)

- 1 tbsp of vanilla extract

- 1 cup of milk, heated

- 1/2 cup of sugar

- 4 tsp of gelatin

- 2 tbsp of cocoa powder

Directions:

- Dip ladyfinger cookies into a cup of espresso (no more than five seconds or the cookies will become soggy)

- In your baking pan, horizontally lay ladyfinger cookies to form a crust, then freeze

- Once the ladyfinger cookie layer has frozen together, remove it from the baking pan. This process will be done twice to form a ladyfinger, cheesecake, ladyfinger, cheesecake vertical pattern

- In a separate bowl, combine cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, and vanilla extract

- In a different bowl whisk milk, sugar, and gelatin

- Strain milk mixture into the cream cheese bowl mixture

- Lay the frozen ladyfinger layer

- Add the cream cheese mixture

- Add your second ladyfinger layer

- Top it all off with one final cream cheese mixture

- Chill the cheesecake in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours

- Layer the cheesecake with a cocoa powder sprinkle

- Demolish

This is the ultimate after dinner dessert. The word Tiramisu means, “pick me up” or “cheer me up” and this dessert will do just that. The fluffy texture + strong taste work together to make this an amazingly sweet treat.